Puncture-closer for pneumatic tires.



No. 632,540. Patented Sept. 5, I899.

R. W. SAMPSON.-

PUNCTUBE CLOSER FOR PNEUMATIC TIRES.

- (Application filed Dec. 8, 1898.)

(No Model.

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT WILLIAM SAMPSON, OF QUEBEC, CANADA.

PUNCTURE-CLOSER FOR PNEUMATIC TIRES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters latent No. 632,540, datedSep'temher 5, 1899.

Application filed December 8,1898. Serial No. 698,665. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern! Be it known that I, ROBERT WILLIAM SAMP-SON, of the city of Quebec, Province of Quebec, Canada, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Closing Punctures inPneumatic Tires; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full,clear,

' and exact description of the same.

This invention relates to devices for effectually closing punctures andholes in pneumatic tires, hose, or tubing; andit has for its object theproduction of a simple, strong, and efficient puncture-closing deviceadapted to be readily and accurately applied, my invention beingparticularly adapted for closing holes and punctures in pneumaticvehicletires.

Rubber and other flexible plugs have been devised for closing punctureswith the aid of cement; but such plugs are difficult to apply, and owingto their flexibility they frequently are so bent or folded as to renderit practically impossible to at times effect a perfect closure. So, too,conical-headed plugs have been devised provided with a threaded shanktoreeeive a cap, the material of the tire or tubing being held betweenthe base of the cone and the cap, and flat caps having threaded shankshave also been devised. Such devices, however, are defective for thereason that the first mentioned tends to greatly enlarge the puncture,and the yielding material of the tubing will not fit tightly around thebase of the plug, so that a tight closure cannot be effected, while thesecond-mentioned device is defective because a cap is required to besunk into the outer cover of the tire, thus increasing the size of thehole and besides embodying a coin plioated construction. By my presentinvention I obviate the objectionable features of the flexible ormetallic plugs referredto, and without the use ofcement I am enabled toeffeet a tight and effective closure of a hole or puncture withoutincreasing the size of the hole.

For full comprehension, however, of my invention reference must be hadto the accompanying drawings,forming a part of this speciiication,wherein like symbols indicate corresponding parts, and in Which- Figure1 represents, in cross-section and enlarge-d, a portion of tubing withmy novel puncture-closer applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a like view showingthe manner of inserting the device into the puncture. Fig. 3 is anenlarged side elevation, partly in section, of the plug; and Fig. 4 is aplan view of the head of my closing device with the shank showninsection.

My novel puncture-closing devicecomprises, essentially, a head a,preferablymade of brass or other rigid material, a threaded shank b, towhich the head is pivotally connected by a ball-and-socket joint, and adetachable cap or nut 0, adapted to take over the shank b and to bearupon the exterior of the tire or other tube, while the outer end of theshank is offset to form a temporary handle.

The cap or nut c has the edge of its outer face rounded and its innerface provided with a serrated flange f, tending to lock it in place whenscrewed down into the rubber of the tire.

The head a is of oval form and provided with a socket to receive theball (2 on the end of the shank b, such socket being usually formed by adepression 9 from the inside of the head outward and an inside partialcovering-strip h for such depression, having a slot j narrower than theball 6, but wide enough to accommodate the shank.

In order to apply the closing device to a punctured tire or other tubeT, the head a, having been turned up against the shank, is forcededgewise through the hole or puncture into the interior of the tube.\Vhen the head a is entirely within it,it can be readily turned on itspivot into position at right angles to the shank and by means of theshank (after the nut has been screwed down into contact with the tire)drawn up close against the in-- ner surface of the tube, as in Fig. 1,with the shank in the hole or puncture. When the head a has been drawntightly up against the inside surface of the tire and the latter clampedfirmly between the head and nut, that portion of the shank projectingout be yond the nut is filed off, leaving the device as shown in Fig. 1.

\Vhat I claim is as follows:

1. A puncture-closer for tubing comprising a shank; a head; a universaljoint for con necting said head to said shank; said head having a slotextending from said universal joint and of sufficient width toaccommodate to accommodate the shank b; and the coopsaid shank;andacooperating retainingcap, crating retaining-cap with serrated undersubstantially as described. surface substantially as described.

2. A puncture-closer for tubing, consisting l In testimony whereof Ihave affixedmy sig- 5 of the threaded shank, b, with its upper endnature in presence of two witnesses.

offset to form a temporary handle and having a ball, e, formed upon itslower end; the ROBERT WILLIAM SAMPSON head, a, formed with a socket toreceive and \Vitnesses: loosely retain said ball, and the slot, j, nar-J. H. FARR; IO rower than the ball, e, and of suflicient width ERNEST F.WI'FSTETE.

